Assessment of emotional stress among patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which the upper airway is partially or completely blocked during sleep. As a result, sleep arousal and arterial oxygen saturation are reduced. According to the epidemiological survey, OAS is relatively common among people that may be associated with psychiatric illnesses. Objectives: The primary objective was to evaluate the stress level among patients suffering from OSA. The secondary objective was to compare the gender preference for stress among patients suffering from OSA. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study, approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee, was performed to assess emotional stress among patients suffering from OSA. The study involved 20 participants diagnosed with OSA and reported to the Respiratory Department. The stress levels of the study participants were evaluated with a validated, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire given by the American Sociological Association (ASA). Result: The stress levels presented by the study participants showed that 40% (n = 8) subjects had moderate stress and 60% (n = 12) had severe stress and 30.3% of females depicted emotional stress and 26.2% of males for the same. Conclusion: There is a high psychological stress level among patients suffering from OSA. The females had higher predictions when compared to males. Such patients should be offered an intervention program aimed at stress management to enhance their quality of life.

An Innovative Method for Iris Positioning in a Prosthetic Eye.

AIM: An apparatus named "laser pointer apparatus" is proposed for accurate iris positioning in a prosthetic eye. BACKGROUND: Loss of an eye leads to significant psychological stress due to functional disability and societal response to the facial disablement. Custom-made eye prosthesis is a good option to rehabilitate such defects. Inaccurately positioned iris in a prosthetic eye results in squint eye appearance leading to poor esthetics and poor psychological impact among such unfortunate patients. TECHNIQUE: A new apparatus called a laser pointer apparatus, which is an assembly of an occlusal plane analyzer, web camera, laser pointer, and software, has been introduced for iris positioning in a prosthetic eye. CONCLUSION: Iris positioning is one of the key steps in fabricating an eye prosthesis. Laser pointer apparatus is a reliable method for iris positioning in a prosthetic eye. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Positioning the iris to the ideal symmetrical position is a cardinal step in the fabrication of an ocular prosthesis. This article aims to introduce a "laser pointer apparatus" to orient iris in a prosthetic eye objectively to overcome the subjective errors.

Assessment of the Change in Color of Maxillofacial Silicone after Curing Using a Mobile Phone Colorimeter Application.

AIM: To evaluate the change in color of the maxillofacial silicone after curing using a mobile phone colorimeter application. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-piece metal mold was fabricated. Twenty five samples were made using M511, maxillofacial silicone. A jig was prepared to hold the mobile phone at a fix distance from the samples. The color was measured for each sample in terms of HSV (hue, saturation, value) with the mobile phone colorimeter application after manipulation and after polymerization of the samples. Data were statistically analyzed using the Student's paired t test and the software used in the analysis was SPSS 22.0 version. RESULTS: The mean difference of hue was 1.32 ± 2.71, with p value 0.053. Mean differences in saturation was 0.72 ± 2.01, with p value 0.066. Mean differences in value were 2.16 ± 3.11, with a p value 0.002. The measure of value showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a significant change in the value of the color of the maxillofacial silicone after polymerization. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Increasing the value of the color by 2-3% at the time of manipulation of the maxillofacial silicone with the use of a mobile phone colorimeter application can help the clinician to reproduce the same color in the final prosthesis after curing to achieve a predictable esthetic outcome for a facial prosthesis.

Evaluation of the effect of different surface treatments on the bond strength of non-precious alloy‒ceramic interface: An SEM study.

Background. Dental porcelain has excellent esthetics in combination with biocompatibility and is one of the most commonly used restorative materials. Its low tensile strength remains a major drawback. The porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations have been introduced to increase the fracture resistance of dental porcelain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface treatments on the bond strength of a non-precious alloy to ceramic. Methods. The present cross-sectional observational study was conducted with forty samples of cobalt‒chromium that were fabricated with porcelain interposed between the two metal test pieces. The metal was subjected to combinations of different surface treatments. The samples group A (n=10) were not subjected to any surface treatments. Group B samples underwent sandblasting and surface grinding. Group C samples were subjected to sandblasting, surface grinding and degassing; and group D samples underwent sandblasting, surface grinding, ultrasonic cleaning and degassing. The tensile bond strength was measured in a universal testing machine, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to obtain images of the samples after surface treatment to determine the surface irregularities and after the debonding of the samples for the type of the bond failure. ANOVA was used for the statistical analysis. Results. The results showed significant variations in the tensile bond strength between the four groups (F=251.05, P=0.000). The SEM images of group A showed no surface irregularities; group C samples exhibited surface irregularities more than those in group B. Group D had the highest surface irregularities. SEM evaluations showed a statistically significant difference in the type of bond failure (P<0.001). Conclusion. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the surface treatments on the metal increased the bond strength of the metal‒ceramic interface significantly. A combination of sandblasting, surface grinding and ultrasonic cleaning, followed by degassing, resulted in the highest tensile bond strength.

Comparative Evaluation of the Effect of Chemical Disinfectants and Ultraviolet Disinfection on Dimensional Stability of the Polyvinyl Siloxane Impressions.

CONTEXT: Infection control is an important concept in the present day practice of dentistry. Disinfection of dental impressions is part of the daily routine in a dental clinics. After disinfection, it is important that impressions remain dimensionally stable. AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of chemical disinfectants and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection on the dimensional stability of the polyvinyl siloxane impressions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is (1) To evaluate the effect of chemical disinfectant (2% glutaraldehyde and 1% sodium hypochlorite) and UV disinfectant on the dimensional stability of polyvinyl siloxane impression material. (2) Comparative evaluation of the dimensional discrepancy between the cast poured from the polyvinyl impressions material, that is subjected to chemical disinfectant and UV disinfectant to that of cast poured from impressions that were nondisinfected. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A customized tray was fabricated to make impressions. Impressions were divided into four groups, 10 samples were disinfected with 2% glutaraldehyde for 20 min, 10 samples were disinfected with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 20 min, 10 samples were disinfected with UV light for 20 min, and 10 samples were not subjected to disinfection which served as control group. All the samples were poured after 30 min in die stone. Measurements were recorded using traveling microscope of 0.001 accuracy. Statistical analysis used in this study was the one-way ANOVA test. RESULTS: The result showed significant dimensional changes in samples disinfected with 2% glutaraldehyde and 1% sodium hypochlorite, whereas samples disinfected with UV disinfectant unit showed no significant dimensional changes when compared with control group samples. Within the chemical groups, impressions disinfected with 1% sodium hypochlorite showed more discrepancy in the dimensions when compared to the 2% glutaraldehyde disinfected group. CONCLUSIONS: UV light disinfectant can be safely used to disinfect impressions as compared to chemical disinfectants in clinical prosthodontic procedures.